EQ6 Pro 3 star alignment failure

[roughy]

Hi
I took delivery of this mount a couple of weeks ago. No observing as I have been concentrating on drift alignment on a pier, collimating one ota and waiting on another ota and camera.

However the last few nights I've been trying to get a 3 star alignment but the synscan keeps telling me the alignment failed.

If I do an alignment but do not centre the stars I get the successful message. If I centre the stars I get the fail.

My drift alignment is pretty solid - no north/south drift after 10 minutes.

Can anyone advise please.

Cheers

Mark

[marki]

Try setting the date to the american standard;

mm/dd/yy

Mark

[BC]

How far off is the first star? You can actually undo the clutches and move it pretty close on the first one if it is a long way off. You must use the hand controller to get the second and third stars centered in the eyepiece once it has slewed into place though.

Sorry if this is teaching you to suck eggs,
Bruce

[Visionoz]

Try first two stars on one side of the pier and then the last one on the other side of the meridian

I've noticed this with mine when it says "Failed!"

HTH
Cheers
Bill

[RobF]

Sounds like you have your hands pretty full already Mark, but suggest you also read up on the freeware EQMOD. Makes N star alignment and editing of points possible. I find with my HEQ5Pro the ability to map separate sides of the meridian very handy too. Other benefits include pulse guiding, tour and mosaic functions, easier PEC.

You may already be aware, but something to look at in future - most people that experience never want to go back to the handcontroller, especially if you're in an observatory environment.